All posts by: Adam Garson

About Adam Garson

YouTube is no stranger to copyright infringement issues.  In 2008, Viacom filed a $1 billion copyright infringement suit against YouTube, claiming that the video site contributed to an explosion of copyright infringement by permitting users to post infringing videos.  The federal district court eventually dismissed Viacom’s action against YouTube on grounds that the Digital Millennium […]

Protecting recipes with the traditional tools of intellectual property is difficult. That’s why so many valuable recipes are maintained by their owners as trade secrets. Thomas English Muffins, Coca-Cola, KFC Fried Chicken, Chartreuse, and Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies are a few well-known examples. But that does not deter some people from pushing the envelope […]

In 2014, we wrote about copyright litigation involving Mike Tyson’s Maori-inspired facial tattoo. The tattoo artist, Victor Whitmill, sued Warner Brothers Entertainment in an attempt to stop the release of the movie, “The Hangover Part II,” in which one of the characters was tattooed in an identical manner to Mike Tyson. Recall that the wearer of a […]

Remember NFTs (“Non-Fungible Tokens”)? As a reminder, an NFT is a type of digital asset that represents ownership or proof of authenticity of a unique item or piece of content, such as artwork, music, videos, or collectibles, using blockchain technology. Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which are fungible and can be exchanged on a one-to-one basis, NFTs […]

Do you know what distinguishes a trade name from a trademark? Clients frequently ask us to file a trademark application for the name of their company without any understanding of whether the company name is being used as a trademark. So, what is the difference? To put it simply, a trade name under section 45 of the […]

If you thought that you were immune from prosecution for infringing a U.S. registered trademark in a foreign country, be forewarned. In late 2011, Michael Norman Hallatt, a Canadian citizen and U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident, began visiting a Bellingham, Washington Trader Joe’s (“TJ’s”) store several times a week to buy large quantities of Trader Joe’s […]

Trademarks and First-Time Inventors Understandably, the solo inventor wants to focus on her invention.  Does it work as designed?  Who shall I hire to create a prototype? Where shall it be manufactured?  How and when shall it be protected by patent? Can I afford it? These are important concerns but they should not be the […]

As a Philadelphia-area law firm, we can’t resist talking about Philadelphia Eagles-related trademarks. Most Eagles fans and anybody who’s watched a Philadelphia Eagles game are familiar with the “brotherly shove” play. You’re not a football fan, let us explain. The “Brotherly Shove” football play — also referred to as the “tush push” — is essentially a […]

We are frequently requested to file trademark applications for popular slogans, whether political or otherwise. Sometimes such slogans may be registrable but only if the mark acts as a source identifier and is used accordingly. Often, the applicant simply wishes to monetize the use of a popular slogan that everybody else uses without any thought […]